TROPDES

• Climate


  A region with certain temperature, dryness, wind, light, etc. known through the average weather over a long period of time
• Weather


  The state of the atmosphere at a given place and time, a day to day condition of a particular place
• Climate is different from weather, in that weather only describes the short-term conditions
• The climate of a location is affected by its latitude, terrain, and altitude, as well as nearby water bodies and their currents
• Elements of Weather


  • Temperature
  • Humidity
  • Atmospheric pressure
  • Wind
  • Precipitation
• Tropical Climate


  Regions where heat and humidity are the dominant problems, where the annual mean temperature is not less than 20 degrees Celsius
• Tropical Asia


  • Brunei
  • Burma (or Myanmar)
  • Cambodia
  • East Timor
  • Indonesia
  • Laos
  • Malaysia
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • Thailand
  • Vietnam
• Major Climatic Regions in the Tropics

  • Tropical wet and dry climate
  • Tropical Monsoon climate
  • Rainforest climate
• Tropical wet and dry climate


  Distinct dry and wet seasons
• Tropical Monsoon climate


  Experience abundant rainfall located near the equator, experience long warm temperature throughout the year
• Rainforest climate


  Around equatorial region, average precipitation
• The Philippines has a tropical climate
• Solar radiation


  • Comes to earth in conduction, convection and radiation. Diffused radiation is relatively high due to very high cloud cover
• Air temperature


  • Acquires heat by the direct radiation from sun and by its contact with the earth. Highest temperature occurs just afternoon (at 2.00 p.m.)
• Humidity


  • Defined as the amount of water vapor suspended in the air at a given temperature, described in terms of absolute or relative humidity

  
• Wind


  • The natural form of air movement, distribution and characteristics determined by global and local factors
• Just before dawn (5.00-6.00 a.m.) is when the lowest temperature occurs, and the highest temperature occurs just in the afternoon (at 2.00 p.m.). The heat exchange varies between day and night, latitudes, with the season, the time of the year and according to the cloud cover.

  
• Humidity


  The amount of water vapor suspended in the air at a given temperature, described in terms of absolute or relative humidity

  
• Absolute humidity


  The mass of water vapor suspended in a unit volume of the air at a given temperature
• Relative humidity


  The ratio of the amount of water vapor per unit volume of the air to the amount of water vapor per unit volume of saturated air at the same temperature, normally expressed as a percentage
• Wind


  The natural form of air movement
• Factors determining the distribution and characteristics of wind over a region


  • The seasonal global distribution of air pressure
  • The rotation of the earth
  • The daily variations in heating and cooling of land and sea
  • Topography of the given region and its surrounding
• The average wind speed is likely to be higher during the day and it frequently drops at sunset especially if skies are clear. The path of the air movement is very important for building design. Ventilation is the process of supplying unconditioned or conditioned air to and removing it from a given space by any method.
• Precipitation


  1. Large scale cloud formation and precipitations result from adiabatic cooling of large air masses

  2. A mass of rising air cools by expansion, and the cooling moisture comes down to the earth as rain

  3. Air masses which are made to rise for different reasons produce three main types of precipitation: convectional, orographic and convergent
• Climate


  The integration in time of the physical state of the atmospheric environment, characteristics of certain geographical locations
• Weather


  The momentary composition of individual elements such as wind, rain, and sunshine experienced at a particular instant or over a very short period

  
• Due to the regularity and predictability of climatic variations over the earth's surface, the climate of a given region can be classified according to its chief seasonal characteristics. This would be more specifically defined as the local climate of that region.

  
• Climate affects human comfort. In designing a building, the principal climatic conditions (solar radiation, temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation) are considered in determining the comfort levels of people.
• Rapid urbanization has led to a large number of buildings that have a large impact on the micro climatic conditions, by deflecting or obstructing the wind flow, casting of shadows on the ground or other surfaces, radiation emitted by reflective surfaces, etc.
• Climatic zones


  • Tropical
  • Arid
  • Temperate
  • Cool
• For the purpose of building design, a simple system of zoning, based on the nature of the thermal issue in the particular location is often used.
• Hot Humid (Tropical) climate


  Regions where heat is the dominant problem, with an annual mean temperature of not less than 20 degrees Celsius
• Characteristics of Tropical Climates

  • Average mean temperature (dry-bulb temperature) of 20-30 deg C
  • Small diurnal temperature change/range
  • Humidity level of 50% to 100% relative humidity
  • Slow wind flow
  • Overcast sky most of the time
  • High precipitation of average 1000mm/yr
  • Breeding of insects (flies, mosquitoes, termites)
  • Damp ground condition

  
• Dry-bulb temperature (DBT)


  The temperature of air measured by a thermometer freely exposed to the air, but shielded from radiation and moisture. DBT is the true thermodynamic temperature.

  
• Prevailing winds in the Philippines

  • Amihan (NE) - November to April
  • Habagat (SW) - May to October

  
• Hot Arid climate


  Regions that are "DRY", with very hot summers and irregular seasons, and less life forms
• Characteristics of Hot Arid climate

  • Very high temperatures, up to 50 deg C or more in summers
  • High diurnal temperature difference of 15-20 deg C
  • Very low precipitation of 50-150 mm per year
  • Clear and blue sky, sometimes with dust storms
  • Strong direct solar radiation during day and escaping at night
  • High speed dusty winds of 20-30 km/hr
  • Loose, sandy soil and poor vegetation
  • Adapted animals like camels, foxes, jackals, snakes, scorpions

  
• Temperate (middle latitude) climates

  • Warm Temperate (Mediterranean) - wet winters, dry summers

  Cool Temperate (parts of North America, Europe and Canada) - wide annual temperature range, cold winters, warm summers
• Cold climate


  • Long, very cold winters and short, cool summers

  Found in polar air mass regions

  Very cold air masses from the arctic

  Temperature range larger than any other climate

  Precipitation increases in summer, but still small annually

  Temperature range: lows -25 °C, highs 16 °C

  Average annual precipitation: 31 cm

  Latitude range: 50° - 70° N and S
• Mean radiant temperature


  Calculated from globe temperature using air temperature and velocity